Recently, Park Hyun-seok, the PD who directed the variety show 'My Child's Dating,' jointly produced by tvN STORY and T-cast E Channel, shared candid stories from the program's planning intent to casting process, viewer reactions and ideas for season 2 in a written interview with OSEN.
My Child's Dating, which premiered on the 20th of last month, is a reality variety show about parents watching their children's romances and children who grow through dating. The cast includes actor Lee Jong-hyuk's son Lee Tak-soo; comedian Kim Dae-hee's daughter Kim Sa-yun; chef Ahn Yu-seong's son Ahn Seon-jun; Lee Cheol-min's daughter Lee Shin-hyang; Park Ho-san's son Park Joon-ho; Jeon Hee-cheol's daughter Jeon Su-wan; Lee Jong-won's son Lee Seong-jun; and Jo Gap-kyung's daughter Hong Seok-ju, who show fresh romances.
Park said, "It started from a one-line idea: 'What if the panel of a dating program were parents?'" He added, "I thought it might be a program needed by the generation of parents who are the main TV viewers. From a parent's perspective, the most curious thing would be 'my child's dating.' You can teach about everything else, but you cannot see or teach dating directly. I wanted it to be a program that could provide vicarious satisfaction for that frustrated feeling."
He described two major differences from existing dating and family variety shows. "First is the panel. In My Child's Dating, the parents, who are most closely related to the participants, serve directly as panelists. That allows for more real and overinvested reactions. It contains the complex emotions parents feel beyond simple encouragement," he explained.
He continued, "The second is the approach to dating as a subject. We focused on 'growth.' Dating is a process of finding a partner, but looking more deeply, it becomes an opportunity to discover aspects of oneself one didn't know. Experiencing various emotions and going through hard times makes one more mature. We wanted to capture parents watching their children's growth together."
Park listed three keywords as directing points. The first is '20s dating on a summer day.' He said, "Most of the participants are college students, so I wanted to express emotions appropriate to that age," and added, "To create a high-teen feel for the space, we had difficulty securing director Im Seong-mi, who did film art. We also used early 2000s music as BGM to set the tone."
The second is 'analog.' "From a parent's viewpoint, a child is 'another me who resembles me the most.' I hoped parents would reminisce about their 20s through their children. I also thought children would feel something different dating in their parents' generation's way," he said, mentioning directing choices such as delivering missions via radio broadcasts or putting messages on tapes. The third is 'the story of the person my favorite person loves.' He said, "I wanted to capture the feelings of parents who let go on their child's wedding day while watching their child's dating. To show parents' emotions of both cheering and feeling regret, we included elements like 'best friend introduction letters' and 'dates the father took.'"
Regarding casting, Park said, "I hoped as many fathers and mothers as possible would appear together, but realistically it seemed more burdensome for mothers to appear," and added, "Still, I am grateful to Jo Gap-kyung for appearing." He also said, "We cast mainly people in their 20s. I thought they were suitable to portray a fresh growth drama. We were careful to make sure the child participants' characters did not overlap," and admitted, "As expected, casting was not easy because families were appearing together. Still, I am grateful to the parents and children who trusted us."
Right after the broadcast, there were reactions such as "It's nice to see celebrity children after a long time," along with concerns about "nepo baby (privilege controversy)." Regarding this, Park said, "I think that's entirely possible. But the important thing is the thematic consciousness we want to show. It's not simply a 'celebrity second-generation dating variety show,' but a story of children who grow through dating and the parents who watch them. I thought it was a story any parent could relate to."
On the situation where participants close to semi-celebrities had past actions reexamined, he said, "We thought of the program's identity as a 'warm growth story.' We cast accordingly and met and talked with parents and children several times before filming," emphasizing, "The friends I met myself were not sharp and were warm people."
Park pointed to chef Ahn Yu-seong's son Seon-jun's heartfelt confession as the most talked-about scene. He analyzed, "There are more moments of failure than success. Because it is a failure anyone has experienced, viewers probably empathized more." He also cited the final farewell scene of the eight contestants as a memorable moment, saying, "It was meaningful time for each of them beyond the broadcast. It resonated with viewers as well."
He also revealed plans for season 2. Park said, "If season 2 is produced, I would like to compose it of children in their 30s. It would be a completely different program from season 1. I would like to cover stories of marriageable-age children finding actual marriage partners," and added, "I want to extend the cohabitation period to about 10 days to include deeper stories."
Finally, he said, "There is so much content these days. I hope My Child's Dating can give viewers a little time to rest and a warm energy," and added, "I hope it becomes a program people can take out again when life is hard and tiring. I am grateful to the viewers who watched with affection."
Meanwhile, My Child's Dating airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m.
[OSEN]